Apr 13 Popcorn Addict: The Fate of the Furious

What more can you want?!?! Oh, you turn your nose up to those enamored with The Fast and the Furious franchise? Well, this post ain’t for you!

The Fate of the Furious is the 8th film in The Fast and the Furious franchise, now helmed by uber-talented F. Gary Gray (Straight Outta Compton, The Italian Job, Friday). The full team (quite large at this point) is back and fully engaged! I’m a super-fan of the series, so I was so happy when Xfinity provided an opportunity to screen the film early. Thanks, Xfinity!!!

You know the deal with these movies. There’s a mission, a villain, cool vehicles (more than just cars this time—submarines, tanks!), action, callbacks to prior films, messages about family, and hot people. I can’t say much about the plot without spoiling. There are a lot of good plot points in this film!

Highlights: Charlize Theron!! I’ve always loved her, but didn’t think it was her kinda film. She proved me dead wrong. She was a wonderfully scary (and believable) villain. She had great lines and kept up with the crew. Well done to the casting crew and Charlize! She made this movie.

As usual, love The Rock and Jason Statham. Enough said.

Additionally, this movie was hilarious!!! Arguably the funniest of the franchise. I have always loved the banter between Tyrese (which I must mention, I do not find him funny at all in real life—especially with his continued misogynists views) and Luda’s characters, but everyone was on their A-game. In the first film without Brian/Paul Walker, it is clear the family is back and ready to go.

Drawbacks: Cinematography wasn’t perfect. The camera was a tad too shaky during the action sequences. I wanted to see more of the hits and what was happening. I’m sure this is hard to navigate with the choreography, extras, and stunt doubles, but it we’ve had smoother sequences in some of the prior films (and we’ve seen it done well in other F. Gary Gray films). Also, the submarine CGI toward the end—not great.

Overall: I really enjoyed this film. I need to re-watch, but I believe I would rank it high in the franchise. I predict this will be another $100+ million grossing film (the franchise has grossed over $4 billion!). Great storyline, hilarious, and great action sequences. Again, what more do you want? Well, we’ll know in the upcoming years with the already planned future films!

Rating: 9/10

Any plans to see The Fate of the Furious? What is your favorite film from The Fast franchise? Leave your thoughts in the comments!